Ford Wants To Remind You Of All The Times The Mustang Had A Good Livery By Giving It A Bad Livery

When was the last time you saw a truly good racing livery? Think about it for a minute. A great stand-alone livery that will be looked back on as iconic in fifty years time, one that isn’t a throwback or homage, one that isn’t just a mishmash of black, white, and red —that’s a true rarity these days. I will say that it’s good of Ford to add some bright colors to the IMSA grid this summer, but it would have been a lot cooler if the new Mustang racer had been given a proper racing livery that isn’t just a reminder of all the times Mustang racers had good liveries. This is lame, and if you look deep in your heart, you’ll know it to be true, too.

Ford isn’t the only one to have done this recently, as Porsche did a similar “remember when?” throwback for its then-new 963 prototype at Le Mans. It was lame then, and it’s lame now. Stop half-assing your designs and make a new livery that fans can connect to. This grab bag of colors is muddled faux nostalgia, and it won’t be recognizable on merch or models. Why are the Motorcraft livery or the yellow and black hockey-stick-striped Bud Moore Trans Am Mustangs remembered? Not only were they successful race cars, but the liveries were simple, iconic, and definable.

The Mustang GT3 is a truly cool car, if not exactly up to speed yet. Ford should absolutely honor this new extension of Mustang racing history by giving it a look all its own, something that can stand the test of time.